In July 1995, Robert McCrum suffered a severe stroke at the age of 42. The editor-in-chief of Faber & Faber found himself paralysed down his left side, unable to walk or talk intelligibly. Making extensive use of his diary and that of his wife Sarah Lyall, this thoughtful and optimistic memoir takes us through his first year of treatment and recovery. Through a combination of luck and willpower McCrum has overcome most of his physical disabilities, but he has not merely survived the crisis. Paradoxically, his 'brush with death' has given him the freedom to transform himself into someone more fully alive. Like Tom in The Water Babies, he feels he has 'left my sooty clothes on the riverbank and became purged and renewed'. Rampant workaholism in a job he had grown to dislike has been replaced by a less stressful career and a more relaxed family life with his wife and new baby daughter. 'Perhaps,' he wonders, 'my stroke had been a blessing in disguise...' (Kirkus UK)